Michael Gaio joined Athletic Business in 2012, originally serving as social media manager before becoming eMedia editor. Prior to AB, Michael worked in the athletic department at Baylor University where he documented every move of Robert Griffin III and the rest of the Bears for the university's website and a local TV affiliate. Michael, a native of Plymouth, Minnesota, is the lone Vikings fan in the AB office and a proud graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. When he's not sending tweets on AB's behalf, he enjoys playing basketball, traveling and talking about Mizzou athletics with anyone who will listen.

Once upon a time, a professional football stadium was a place to take in a sporting event. Not anymore. Today's stadiums must be a multi-purpose entertainment palaces complete with luxury suites, club seats, loge boxes, VIP levels and more food and beverage options than a Manhattan city block. A stadium must be, as the Minnesota Vikings' website says, "an epicenter of excitement, opportunity and pride."

Stop me if you've heard this one before: another worker has died in the construction of a World Cup stadium in Brazil. This marks death number eight in the construction process as the country hurriedly tries to get things in order for next month's World Cup.

Northwestern football players cast their votes to determine if they will unionize Friday morning. The vote by about 70 scholarship players will be watched closely by colleges and universities across the country due to the impact it could have on the dynamics of college athletics. However, the outcome of the vote may not be known for some time.

Last month, Athletic Business introduced our readers to the newest trend hitting sports facilities around North America: venues turning their playing surfaces into a 3-D video displays. The technology behind it is incredible, as are the final results.

The Milwaukee Bucks want a new arena to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center. A Milwaukee community group known as "Common Ground" wants better public athletic facilities, playgrounds and recreational spaces. Together, they might both get what they're asking for.

When I was invited by Regupol America to tour several athletic and fitness facilities earlier this month, I had no idea what I was in for. Working for AB, we know how important the right kind of flooring is — it impacts everything from acoustics and aesthetics to cost and usability — but it takes getting out of the office and seeing the details up close to really understand how flooring can make an impact.

There’s nothing like attending a good trade show, especially in the fitness industry. The equipment, the innovation, the music, the energy, the people… Whether it’s our show or IHRSA, I consider attending these shows to be one of the perks of my job.

A professor of mine in journalism school at Missouri once said (actually, he tweeted): "Social media is like a gun. Smart people will use it as a useful tool, not-so-smart people will shoot themselves in the foot with it."

First there were youth sports leagues that stopped keeping score for fear of someone having hurt feelings. Then there's the football league in California that does keep score, but penalizes the teams that win by too much. Now, it appears we've reached a level of softness even Charmin can't match.